Fountain-pen.



Painted Aug. 29, |899. w. w. STEWART.

FOUNTAIN PEN. u

(Application filed Apr. 16, 1898.)

(No Model.)

wlTNessEs:

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS UNITED STATESS PATENT OFFICE.

'WILLIAM W. STEWART, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FOUNTAIN-PEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 631,909, dated August29, 1899.

Application filed April 16, 1898. Serial No. 677,779. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern..-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. STEWART, residing in the city of NewYork, borough of Brooklyn, Kings county, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Fountain-Pens, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates more particularly to that class of fountain-pens inwhich a handle or reservoir is employed that is closed at the upper endand wherein a suitable duct is provided at the lower end of the pen toconvey ink to the pen-nib and to admit air to the reservoir. In largefountain-pens of this type diihculty has been experienced heretofore byreason of the fact that a comparatively large and ready flow of ink isrequired at all times, and it therefore becomes difficult to regulatethe iiow so that there will be a sufficient supply of ink without therebeing at the same time too ready a flow or a liability of the inkdropping from the pen. It has likewise been found in fountain-pens ofthe type to which this invention relates that ink and air are combined,so to speak, at the lower end of the pen, so that as air is admitted tothe reservoir and ink is allowed to be fed to the pennib the airnaturally forms itself into bubbles or globules on its passage to thereservoir. Some of these globules naturally conform in size to thechannel or conduit through which they have to pass, and if the globulesare maintained against movement they form an obstruction which retardsthe dow of ink through the conduit in which they are contained.Principally for this reason great difculty has been experiencedheretofore in providing a fountain-pen which will full all conditionsand meet all requirements.

The object of my present invention is to overcome these and otherdifficulties heretofore found in fountain-pens and to provide afountain-pen in which the flow of ink can be regulated to a greatnicety'without the liability of the ink dropping from the pen.

To these ends my invention consists in a fountain-pen embodying theconstruction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, to which reference is had in the followingdescription 'of ink to the feeder-bar and pen-nib.

of my invention, Figure l is a central longitudinal sectional View ofone form of fountain-pen embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a transversesectional View of the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3, 4, and 5are detail side views of several modilications of what I term theskeletons,7 any one of which may be employed in accordance with myinvention.

The hollow handle or reservoir A (shownin the accompanying drawings) maybe of the usual construction, in which the top a is' closed, and thelower end is provided with a screw-threaded portion b, by which a nozzleB is secured to the handle. Adapted to be secured to the nozzle yB isthe usual cap or cover X. Within the nozzle B may be maintained afeeder-bar C, which is shown in the feeder-bar and the nozzle B. Thefeeder-bar.

is provided with a bore or conduit d, that forms a continuation of thebore of the nozzle and of the handle, so that the conduit formed bythese parts is in communication with the pen-nib and is constantly openat the lower end beneath the pen-nib, so as to constitute an unsealedair-passage. It will be observed that the bore of the feeder-bar issmaller in diameter than that of the handle, so that the inner ends ofthe feeder-bar and the nozzle form circumferential shoulders or bearingse f', respectively. In other words, the ink-conduit of the pen as aWhole is of unequal diameters. Now this general construction is alreadyembodied in many existing fountain-pens, and when it is remembered thatthe ilm or globules will, if retained against movement in the conduit,constitute an obstruction to the iiow of the ink it will be understoodthat when the globules bear against the circumferential shoulders e fthe globules will be retained against forward movement and will act inthe nature of valves forced against their valve-seats. The eifect ofthis is to retard or obstruct the flow However, a further supply of airwhich is con- IOO tinually admitted at the lower end of the nozzie, willeffect the sealing-globules, and a comparatively large quantity of inkis allowed to pass below the seals at frequent intervals when the pen isin use. This intermittent supply of ink to the feeder-bar causes thevdropping or too ready dow of ink from the pen, which has beenhereinbefore referred to and which it is the object of the presentinvention to overcome.

By referrin g-to Fig. l it will be seen that what .I term a skeleton Eis contained Within the pen. This skeleton may be made in a variety offorms, as represented in the various iigures of the drawings, andcomprises a plurality of branches or strands g, which may be 'made ofany suitable material*such, for instance, as silver.

loop or bow.

movement of the skeleton.

Where there is any variation in its diameter and that the strands aremade to bear against y the side walls where the shoulders e f are fformedor where the variation in diameter oci By this means a nucleus isformed for v a steady and continuous flow of inl; around l thesealing-globules or lm when the pen is in use and there is no liabilityof ink dropping from the pen. Thus by the strands bearl ing against thewalls of the conduit where the sealing-globules are retained againstmovement and by the strands extending from the f CUPS.

instance, let it be supposed that the sealingglobules are forced againstthe shoulders or seatse f by the weight of the ink above them. It willbe seen that the bow, because of the gradual constriction of the strandsg above and below the globules, will cause them to retain their positionagainst the seats and will counteract the natural tendency of theglobvules to rise in the'holder or to be forced down the conduit by theweight of the ink.

In practice I have found that the best re- These strands converge or 1intersect, as indicated at h i', so as to form a The skeleton may beprovided i with one or more extensions j, which are adapted to abutagainst the top of the holder, as indicated in Fig. 1, to limit theinwardl The outer end of the skeleton may be provided with a plug 7a, isuch as is disclosed in either of my Patents .I Nos. 588,708 and588,709, dated August 24, 5

suits are obtained with a skeleton such as that illustrated in Figs. land 2, wherein a plurality of parallel strands comprise each member ofthe bow. However, it is obvious that any suitable number of strands maybe employed or that a single strand maybe bent so as to provide askeleton which will in effect be the same as the employment of aplurality of separate strands. The single strand bent upon itself, whichhas just been described, is represented in Fig. 3, and when I referherein to strands it will be understood that I mean it in the sense ofseparate members which maybe formed of a single continuous piece.

By a slight adjustment of the plug kin the feeder-bar@` the ow of inkcan be nicely regulated, and the withdrawal of the plug will enable theuser of the pen to ll it without removing the nozzle from the holder.

In the construction represented in Fig. 4 a plurality of what Itermfholdingfaces are provided for the film or globules. Thus the loop Zconstitutes a means which tends to prevent the movement of the globuleor film in either direction, while the crotch m tends t'o prevent aniovei'ne'nt'of the film or globule in i the direction of the arrowbecause of the con- It will be observed by referring to Fig. l that thestrands of 'the skeleton extend throughout that portion of theink-conduit striction of the strands in that direction.

I do not herein broadly claim the employment of intersecting strands ina fountainpen of any description, since I am aware that heretoforeso-called gravity fountainpens have been devised -wherein intersectingstrands were intended to be used; but

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is s l. Thecombination with a fountain-pen having anink-conduit of varyingdiameters which conduit is in communication with the pen-nib and isconstantly open at the lower end beneath the pen-nib so as tovconstitute an unsealed air-passage, of a plurality of convergingstrands contained within and contacting with the walls of said conduitfor a portion of its extent at every point where the variation indiameter occurs, substantially as and for the purposes speciiied.

2. The combination with a fountainpen v having an ink-conduit of varyingdiameters which conduit is in communication with the pen-nib and isconstantly open at the lower end beneath the pen-nib so as to constitutean unsealed air-passage,of a plurality of strands contained within andadapted to contact with the walls of said conduit for a portion of itsextent wherever the variation in diameter occurs, the said strandsconverging and forming a bow or loop, substantially as and for thepurposes specified. Y

WILLIAM WV. STEWART. Vitnesses:

CHARLES E. SMITH, Guo. E. MORSE.

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